


Girl Down

by Merit



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Female Friendship, Galentine's Day Exchange, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 01:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3311288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merit/pseuds/Merit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ginny had always known Luna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Girl Down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mierke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mierke/gifts).



Ginny didn’t remember meeting Luna. The Lovegoods were part of the small Wizarding community of Ottery St Catchpole and Ginny only remembered her always being there at the edge of her vision, just like the Diggorys. But Luna was different from Cedric and the other Wizarding families. She was a _girl_ and she was _Ginny’s_ age. And that was very important to Ginny, especially as one by one her brothers went off to Hogwarts and she was left at home with only her mum and dad for company.

“I’m going for a walk,” she declared, waving goodbye to her mum. Her mum was peering at the spell book, muttering words as she stirred a potion. It smelled terrible and was one of the reasons that Ginny couldn’t stand being in the Burrow that morning. The other reasons were that she had read all her books, there were no annoying brothers to play with and the house was _boring_.

Her mum waved a hand. “Be back by supper,” she said, scratching at her red hair. A curl had escaped her bun and she waved it away with her wand, so it tucked back neatly. Ginny felt a pang of envy.

It wasn’t fair, she thought, kicking a pebble as she walked up a hill. Even Ron was at Hogwarts now and he was only a year older than her and her mum was saying she was mature for her age, why shouldn’t be there? Though she did hope she got her own wand. Ginny wrinkled her nose. Her brothers could be disgusting and she couldn’t imagine using one of their wands.

Ginny sighed, small head drooping. If she was at Hogwarts she would be able to be friends with Harry Potter too. She frowned. Ron was apparently friends with him. He hardly wrote, but Percy did. And Percy wrote about how Ron and Harry had apparently befriended each other on the train and they’d both been sorted in Gryffindor.

“That’s our boy,” her dad said softly.

“As if they’d been any doubt,” her mum had said, reading the letter to Ginny and her dad one night. “Not with both of his parents in Gryffindor,” she said, and Ginny wasn’t sure if she was referring to Ron or Harry, because she didn’t sound like she was talking about Ron.

Ginny was sure she’d be sorted into Gryffindor as well. The whole family had been worried about Percy. Fred and George had teased him, saying he was more Ravenclaw than Gryffindor and he’d be kicked out of the family home. Mum had waved her wand at them, saying they were wrong, of course he’d be in Gryffindor and Percy had nodded, quite pale. But Ginny _knew_ she would. She was smart enough, but she didn’t love learning like Ravenclaws were supposed to. Hufflepuff wasn’t an option; her brothers would tease her till she was an old granny. And she didn’t even _think_ about getting Sorted into Slytherin. Plus she wanted to play on the same team as Charlie. Even if he had graduated and gone off to tame dragons.

She smiled as she crested the hill and saw that Luna was already there. Luna waved when she saw her, her face pale and wan. Ginny’s mum always said she was a good girl for being friends with Luna, especially after Luna’s mum died. Ginny had held Luna’s hand at the funeral and hugged her. Luna had been like a statute, eyes glassy and Ginny had run to her mum and dad, demanding hugs. Even Ron had looked sad for Luna and he was always refusing to play with them, saying their games were silly. The rest of their brothers were at school or away and they were never that close to Luna anyway. Not like Ginny.

“I bought biscuits,” Ginny said, settling down on the rug Luna had laid out. Up here, they could see all the way to Luna’s house. There was smoke coming out of the chimney. “Your dad’s home?” She asked, trying not to sound surprised. Ever since Luna’s mum had died – “The girl saw it,” her mum whispered to her dad, late at night when they thought she was sleeping, “Poor dear. She’ll have nightmares for years,” – her dad had been away a lot.

Luna nodded, taking one of the biscuits and nibbling delicately. Crumbs fell down her front but she ignored them. “Daddy said his travelling business is over and he’s going to have lots of stories for the Quibbler now,” she said. She handed Ginny a teacup, chipped and with little dancing fairies, one of them poked their tongue out of Ginny and she made a face at it. “Lemonade?”

“Please,” Ginny said politely, her little finger sticking out, like in all those old picture books of her mum’s. Her brothers thought she was being weird, being above herself, but Ginny liked it. It made her feel like the occasion was special. He gazed at Luna and bit her lip. She couldn’t see Luna in Gryffindor. But she wanted her to be Sorted there. Luna poured her teacup full and the stared up to the sky.

“It’s going to rain later,” she said, her voice dreamy. Ginny looked up. The sky was clear but Luna was usually right about these things. “I saw a Pluvarius at the edge of the garden. They only come out to dance when it is raining.”

Ginny nodded. Ron would have rolled her eyes and her mum would have got a slightly troubled look on her face. But this was Luna. This was how she was. She’ll probably be sorted into Ravenclaw, Ginny thought glumly, she’s smart and knew all sorts of weird things. “I’ll tell mum. She’s got washing out,” Ginny paused, swirling her lemonade, “Ron is friends with Harry Potter,” she said quietly. Luna was the only person she had told about her crush. She might have told Ron, but now he was friends with Harry, that was impossible.

“Ah,” Luna said, eyes widening almost impossibly. Ginny had tried in the mirror a dozen times, opening her eyes as wide as possible, but with no success. It was Luna’s thing. “We’ll be at Hogwarts next year.”

“It’s a whole year away,” Ginny sighed, laying back on the rug. Grass brushed against her cheek and she scratched it away, frowning. “A whole year till Ron comes home. He’ll know so much magic. And I’ll know none. I’ll never impress Harry,” she said, looking down, chin on her chest.

“Wasn’t he raised by Muggles?” Luna asked. “Everything will be magical to him. Everything is possible when you’re a Muggleborn.”

Ginny frowned. “I suppose so,” she said doubtfully. “Imagine not knowing about magic!” She tried, she really did, but she couldn’t. Her mum was always polite to their Muggle neighbours at Ottery St Catchpole, but she had never encouraged Ginny to play with the girls her age in the village. However Ginny had heard stories of plugs from her dad and it _didn’t_ sound very exciting. Magic was much better, she had decided.

 

* * *

 

When the Sorting Hat left her head, Ginny went to her feet with a big grin on her face, as her brothers and the rest of Gryffindor House cheered for her. She was still riding the high of being in her destined House when she noticed something. Or a lack of something really. She settled next to Hermione, who had a worried look on her face. Fred came up to her and ruffled her hair, Ginny stuck her tongue out and George laughed. Percy congratulated her, tone stiff and proper. Ginny rolled her eyes. Percy could be so weird sometimes.

“Where’s Ron? Um. And Harry?” She asked, keeping her voice low so her brothers wouldn’t hear. There had already been dozens of sly comments from Fred and George since they had rescued Harry and Ginny had almost been certain she was going to stick that way, red as tomato for the rest of her life. There was only one more kid after her and he’d been quickly sorted into Hufflepuff so at least there was a lot of chatter to cover her voice.

Hermione shook her head, biting her lip. “I’m not sure. I never saw them on the train. Did you?”

Ginny shook her head. Her mum had been furious, thinking Ron had dashed on ahead without saying goodbye. She had hoped she could sit with Ron. Well Harry. Ron she had seen every day this summer and he had been grating on her nerves by the time he and the others had rescued Harry. But she supposed she should be thankful for that, she considered. Even if he hadn’t given her any warning, she thought with a frown, she could have properly prepared herself if she had known Harry was going to be at breakfast table. Her brother never involved her in anything _that_ exciting.

“I’m sure they’ll turn up,” Hermione said, but she sounded doubtful. Ginny had heard whispers between her parents, about what happened at the end of Ron’s first year, but she hadn’t _believed_ them. She would have to worry if the rumours were true. She wouldn’t be _afraid_.

That night, as she settled into her bed, talking to the other girls – they had two Muggleborns in her year and she and other girls promised to tell them everything they knew about magic and the Wizarding world – she remembered Luna. She’d been sorted into Ravenclaw, like Ginny had suspected she would be. She felt sad at that. But Luna was smart. Even if she wasn’t smart like Percy, she’d find her way, Ginny was sure of it.

She only recalled seeing Luna a couple times that year. She hardly remembered her first year and she didn’t encourage too many thoughts about it. There were too many _bad_ parts and too few _good_ parts. She saw Luna around Hogwarts, they even shared a few classes. She was often without shoes and at the time, Ginny had wondered if everything was alright but _he_ wouldn’t allow her to think that much, especially about _Looney_ Ravenclaws.

Luna had looked lost sometimes, looking up the castle as if she was always trying to find something. It was winter and she had a wand behind her ear. Ginny vaguely remembered it as _before_ Hermione had been petrified. Everything was marked up around _incidents_ and feathers being found on her robes. Sometimes she wanted her brothers, any of them even Percy, to ask how she was. It wouldn’t have helped, _he_ would have kept her mouth closed. But she had always been closest to Ron and it _hurt_ that he was always rushing off with Harry and Hermione.

“Luna,” she said, her voice barely rising above the sound of the wind. Luna looked over her, grey eyes matching the dreary landscape outside the castle. Ginny couldn’t remember why she was outside, but her hands were dirty and – she couldn’t remember. She looked over to Luna dully, wondering if Luna knew. If her guilt was written over her face when she was screaming inside.

“Ginny,” Luna said, walking over to her. She placed a hand on Ginny’s shoulder and Ginny turned to stare at it. She was supposed to do something, wasn’t she? A moment later she realised and she hugged Luna. Luna was warm despite the cold and Ginny missed this, missed talking to Luna. Luna pulled back, a small smile on her face.

“Go away,” she breathed and Luna started and then slowly pulled back. Ginny was staring over Luna’s shoulder. She didn’t know why she said that but she couldn’t take them back, she couldn’t _say_ anything.

Luna’s eyes filled with tears. “I thought you wouldn’t change, Ginny,” she said softly and she was walking backwards, her hands small and then she started running back to the castle. Ginny watched her leave. A moment later she had forgotten even speaking to her. She didn’t understand why her cheeks were wet.

 

* * *

 

The summer after her first year was awful. She had nightmares where she wasn’t herself, where her body wouldn’t move and she would wake up screaming. Her mum would rush in, holding her close, singing her old nursery songs and Ginny would tremble and weep. Her dad would come in on other nights and would tell her stories. Boring, uninteresting stories from work. Ginny wanted to hear them _all_. She didn’t care how many plugs were in them. She would slip off to sleep again as the sky was lightening, her dad’s hand resting on hers.

Her brothers were strange. None of them teased her like they usually did. And they would all smile and nod when she made the most terrible jokes, even when just months ago – if she had been making jokes months ago – they would have all sighed and rolled their eyes. Her mum still wouldn’t allow her to play Quidditch, so some mornings, when she hadn’t been woken by a nightmare and she was the first one up, she would creep out and soar on one of the brooms.

She watched the sun rise, orange tendrils streaking across the sky, a pink blush staining clouds. Sun blinding her, she descended slowly and landed softly. She blinked several times and when she could see clearly again, Luna was standing only a few yards away. Ginny looked away, biting her lip. She didn’t know what exactly happened, because her memories were just slowly coming back to her, but she felt guilty when she thought about Luna. This was one of the first times she had seen her since... everything had happened.

“Hello Ginny,” Luna said.

“Hi,” Ginny said, staring down at the ground.

“I made this for you,” Luna said, approaching her carefully. Ginny looked up as Luna placed a daisy flower crown her head. “I was feeling sad. But you were too.”

“Yeah,” Ginny said, thinking I _wish_ it was just sad, I wish I could _just_ feel sad. She felt empty sometimes, angry other times. Anger that made her afraid. She didn’t know it was hers... or his. “Thank you, Luna,” she said, turning away, because she didn’t like to be around other people when she had these thoughts, she didn’t like herself when she felt this way.

“See you,” Luna said, her voice a whisper on the wind as Ginny ran back home, grass whipping at her calves.

 

* * *

 

By her third year everyone seemed to have forgotten her incident with the diary. Ginny wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Most of year thought she was just homesick and that she blossomed once she started her second year. Ginny just smiled and tossed her hair. It made the boys get wonky knees and trip over themselves. She and the girls giggled.

Sometimes she was asked about her friendship with Luna. “We grew up together,” Ginny would explain, looking over her shoulder. “She’s really quite nice,” she added when the girl frowned. “Oh come on,” she said, smiling, “I wouldn’t call Dumbledore normal, would you?” The girl shook her head. “And he’s a powerful wizard – the greatest England has seen in centuries! You never know how people turn out.”

She had a bit of influence in getting the Gryffindor girls and boys to act nice, but Ravenclaw was another matter. They didn’t seem to respect the Weasley name – “Make them pay,” Fred said – and they were sneaky in their unkindness. They never did anything in front of Ginny.

“You lost your shoes again,” she said evenly. Luna had ignored her when she had asked about them in her second year. Ginny had to bully a few Ravenclaw first years to find out why she always seemed to go around with no shoes on. Luckily they seemed scared of Fred and George, so they were easy to convince. She had confronting Luna about it, but Luna had just turned her head and shrugged.

“I like bare feet,” Luna said, wriggling her toes. Her toenails were painted a sparkly blue, but there was dirt between her toes.

“I like the colour,” Ginny said, sitting down next to Luna, their shoulders meeting. “House proud,” she added, giving a Luna a teasing look. Luna smiled gently and turned her gaze to the sky.

“I can make some for you,” Luna said, pressing her shoulder against Ginny’s, before pulling away slightly. “Red with gold flecks.”

Ginny laughed and looked at her fingernails. “I’ll have to stop biting them,” she said. Luna tilted her head and Ginny nodded. “But yes, I think that’s a great idea. Everyone else is going to want them as well.”

 

* * *

 

Maybe they would have never have found out. Maybe they would have been left wondering – where is Luna? Had she been killed? – but the Carrows were too cruel for that. They cackled, not addressing them personally, no that would be for later. They liked to rub their torture in, make sure you were broken and bloody and then they wanted to fiddle with you, making you scream more. Luna Lovegood had been taken and she was now a guest of Lord Voldemort. Ginny shook at that. But otherwise she remained still. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t even stomach a slice of toast. Luna had been so brave, braver than some Gryffindors, but she had been taken.

They still had classes even though they were _ridiculous_. None of the replacement teachers could actually teach. So every class with them was filled with screeds against Dumbledore, against Harry Potter, against anyone who supported them. If you had any news, any information, you would be richly rewarded, they promised, pale fingers beseeching them, faces twisted with mania. Ginny would stare down, nails digging into the flesh of her palms and she would have cut right through if one of her friends hadn’t elbowed her, a worried look her face.

Neville had rushed after her, looking just as worried as she had. “She’s a Pureblood,” he rushed out. Ginny nodded slowly. That was the only reason they had been able to get away with the little rebellion they could manage. They wore their Pureblood status like badges, throwing about their bloodline like it _meant_ something and wasn’t just chance.

“She’s not one of the Twenty-Eight,” Ginny sighed, looking over to Neville. His face twisted up in disgust. “I know, it’s a load of rubbish but that sort of nonsense means something to them,” she paused, watching a few second years scuttle past. They were Ravenclaws and they deliberately did not meet her eyes. “She has something they want, I guess. They’ll keep her alive for that...”

Ginny and Neville stared at each other, faces pale and wan.

“And we’ll be here when she does get released,” Neville said. Ginny nodded, fingering her wand through her robe. They thought they could hurt _her_ friends, she thought, a frown flittering across her face. She wanted to cast a dozen hexes, let them suffer. They thought Luna was going to break. They didn’t know how _strong_ Luna was.

 

* * *

 

In the summer after the war, Ginny returned to the Burrow and tried to forget. She was better than her brothers, she thought. She had already had to forget the diary. George was almost a ghost, pale and grey, his face turned as if he expected Fred to say something. Ginny spent a lot of time outside. She didn’t care anymore if anyone saw, she grabbed a broom and started to soar.

One day, when June was turning into July, she saw a figure at the top of the hill near the Lovegood’s former house. Ginny watched them carefully and then smiled when she saw the wind rush over the hill and blow Luna’s dirty blonde hair. She descended slowly and landed with a soft thump. She hadn’t seen Luna in weeks.

“Hi,” she said. Luna turned her head and smiled, her face lit up by the summer sun. Tears filled Ginny’s eyes as she rushed forward to hug Luna. Luna was still so thin and Ginny’s hands were shaking. “I was so worried,” she whispered. “All the time you were gone, I worried and worried about you.”

“We both weren’t safe,” Luna said, her eyes darkening for a moment. “But we are now. Thanks to Harry.”

Ginny laughed, wiping away tears and oh other stuff. “I think a few other people helped,” she said, hiccupping through the words. Luna nodded and pulled away. “I bought lemonade,” she said.

Ginny smiled and sat down next to Luna.


End file.
